镉对孕鼠胎盘激素合成功能的毒性效应

为探究孕期低剂量镉暴露对胎盘激素合成功能的毒性效应,选择雌三醇和孕酮激素作为研究对象,基于研究的孕期低剂量镉暴露小鼠模型,通过生物化学方法检测镉暴露小鼠的血液和胎盘中的雌三醇和孕酮激素含量及其合成底物浓度,并通过实时定量PCR法对胎盘中相关激素合成基因的表达水平进行检测.结果表明,孕期低剂量镉暴露可导致小鼠血清和胎盘中...

The toxic effects of maternal cadmium exposure on the hormone production of the mouse placentas

This study explored the toxic effects of low-dose maternal cadmium (Cd) exposure on the levels of estriol, progesterone and their substrates in the mouse serum and placentas. The mRNA levels of the genes involved in the hormone production were also examined by quantitative real-time PCR. The results showed that the concentration of progesterone, but not estriol, was significantly decreased by 43% and 13% respectively in the serum and placentas from the Cd-exposed mice, despite that the level of substrate for progesterone production remained unchanged in the placentas. The mRNA expression levels of progesterone synthase HSD3B6 gene and its regulatory gene D3 were significantly decreased by 73% and 85% in the Cd-exposed placentas respectively. In conclusion, low-dose maternal Cd exposure can inhibit the progesterone production in the placentas, which is likely to be due to the decrease in the expressions of hormone gene related to the hormone synthesis, such as HSD3B6 and D3.